Winooski’s post office opened in 1879, and 34% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 71% of U.S. towns · #57 of 71 in Vermont. What drives it
8 places in town are on the National Register, among them three historic districts with 18 buildings between them. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1880.
The Winooski post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Winooski Falls (1846), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 2,833 in 18802020 census: 7,997147 years
How historic is Winooski?
B+
More historic than 71% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Winooski post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Winooski’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Winooski is more historic than 71% of U.S. towns, #57 of 71 in Vermont. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Winooski’s overall grade.
Vermont towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Vermont town has 147 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Winooski’s 28.9 sits near the middle of its state (40% of Vermont towns have fewer) while its 24 historic buildings outnumber those of 80% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.3 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Winooski’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
About 5000 years ago, a single family of Paleolithic Native Americans came to what is now the city. The prehistoric campground for this transient group is one of Vermont's significant archaeological sites. Other native people came to Winooski in the years that followed.
Situated on a main road, Winooski most likely started as a rest stop for travelers. With a set of waterfalls to assist the growth of industry, however, it soon also became a center for wool processing.
Passages that mention Winooski, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Chittenden County, Vermont, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers1886Read the page →
Read the text
The first settlement commenced at Shelburne Falls was in 1785, by Ira Allen, then a resident in Winooski village. A rudely-constructed log bridge was built across La Plotte River, a dam was constructed some ten rods above the present saw-mill dam, a saw-mill erected on the north side of the stream, and a forge on the south. In 1786 a dam was constructed at the lower end
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Chittenden County, Vermont, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers1886 · page 385Read the page →
Read the text
The principal highways in Bolton are as follows : A road running through the entire township, keeping close to Winooski River, being the old turnpike leading from Burlington to Montpelier ; a road running through the "Notch," as it is called, from West Bolton and meeting the first mentioned road at a point two miles north of Bolton Station ; a stage road running westerly from West Bolton to the village of Jonesville, in Richmond. The town is crossed by the Central Vermont Railroad, which keeps close to Winooski River.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Winooski, 1846 to 1957
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Winooski post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Winooski rank for history?
Winooski is more historic than 71% of U.S. towns, #57 of 71 in Vermont. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Winooski?
8 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Old Stone House (listed 1973, the first), 3 historic districts, the Winooski Falls Mill District, the Winooski Falls Mills Historic District and the LeClair Avenue Historic District, with 18 contributing buildings, and 1 site. 24 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Winooski?
34% of Winooski’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.3 points), against a typical 22% for a Vermont town; the median home was built in 1974.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (1), the Library of Congress (11), the National Register of Historic Places (8), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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